


A Soul for a Soul

by MandyMyfanwy



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Fix-It, Gen, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-03-01 12:10:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18800071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MandyMyfanwy/pseuds/MandyMyfanwy
Summary: The Soul Stone demands a trade: a soul for a soul. But what happens if you try to trade back?





	A Soul for a Soul

The wind blew coldly across the peak of the mountain. Thick clouds whirled perpetually overhead, a slow whirlpool that only added to the already over-theatrical nature of the place. Two great pillars rose above the platform, which itself extended over the sheer drop to the ground below, and they seemed to be reaching into that whirlpool as if drawn upwards by it.

There was no way that something this dramatic had anything natural about it. Steve hadn't seen anything with this much effort put into this sort of aesthetic since some of the HYDRA bases.

Steve stepped out onto that platform, still scattered with the rubble and discarded debris from Clint and Natasha's fight. He could almost hear the echoes of their desperate struggle to keep each other from being the one to sacrifice themself for the Stone.

He tried not to think about it.

The plan had worked, eventually. They had stumbled, almost lost, but it had worked. But the cost had been high. And for everything they'd had to do to claim the Soul Stone, it was time it went back to where it had come from, when it had come from.

 

" _ It is not often that people come here. _ " The voice echoing from ... somewhere ... was familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. It put him on edge, though. Clint had told him there would be a guardian, a keeper of the Soul Stone. Why was the voice familiar? " _ It is rarer still that someone returns the Soul Stone willingly, when the price has been paid. _ "

Steve looked around, trying to find the source of the voice, but it was just him on this cursed mountain. "We did what had to be done. I'm doing what has to be done."

" _ Ever dutiful, Captain Rogers. _ "

"You know me?" He stepped over to one of the great pillars, so that at least one direction wasn't just open space.

" _ I know everyone who comes here, Steven Grant Rogers. But you— _ " The voice paused, and Steve saw a familiar face, an unforgettable, horrible sight, approaching from the path he'd just climbed. Red Skull. " _ You and I have danced before. You led me to come here, to keep this place and guide those who come seeking the Stone. _ "

Of all the people to find here, at the end of the universe. Steve stepped forward, his fists coming up without him even thinking about it. "You!" He glared for a moment, then dropped his hands, even though it took all the effort he could muster. "I didn't come here to fight."

His old foe didn't come any further forward, floating at the end of the path. " _ That is good. I am... not the man I once was. _ " 

 

" _ And what do you expect from this, from coming here with the Stone? _ "

"Expect? Not a goddamn thing." Steve stepped away from the pillar, moving towards the middle of the platform without getting any closer to Red Skull. "You know as well as I do why this has to go back where it came from."

" _ Perhaps I do know, yes. But you have the power of the gods in your hand, and you return it, willingly, freely? _ "

Steve looked down at his hand, curled tightly around the Soul Stone. "Yes."

" _ Despite the price paid to gain it? _ "

"Yes." He closed his eyes, trying not to picture what had happened here. "She knew what we were trying to do. It worked."

" _ And that is enough? _ "

"It has to be."

Red Skull turned away, and began drifting down that path again. His only parting comment, as his voice faded into the wind, was, " _ Remember that price, Captain Rogers. A soul for a soul. _ "

 

One of Natasha's discarded widowbites crackled with electricity. After everything that had happened, and with the confusion of time travel, it was easy to forget the fact that it had only been a few minutes here since Clint and Natasha had been here together. Only a few minutes since...

He knew where she'd be. She had only just fallen. He knew she was gone, but she'd still be there. He didn't know if he could bring himself to look.

He didn't know if he could bring himself to leave if he didn't look.

The Stone. It had to go back. It had shown up in Clint's hand after Natasha threw herself from the platform. So, that's where it had to go.

Steve stepped to the edge of the platform, the great abyss of the cliffside below him. Dropping to his knees, he finally brought himself to look down.

Far below, he could see her. Lying face-up on the cold, hard stone, a pool of blood around her head. He reached out his hand, the Stone gripped tight.

The Stone was warm, and he found he couldn't unclench his fingers to let it go.

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes. Please.

This was the end of it. The other Stones had been easier. Just one more to go.

Please.

It slipped from his grip, falling down into that awful void, its bright orange light shining the whole way. One last tribute to everything that they'd lost.

 

The swirling clouds above him flashed a bright blue, energy sparking from the pillars and up into that great whirlpool.

The light turned a blinding white.

A moment passed.

 

Was it only a moment? It was no time, but forever.

 

A hand touched Steve's shoulder. He was... kneeling in shallow water? Not the hard stone of the platform any more.

"Hey, sleepyhead, time to get up." That voice...

That voice was familiar. It was comforting. It was... impossible.

"Nat?" He opened his eyes, looking up at her.

"What, you were expecting Santa Claus maybe?"

"Nat..."

She poked him in the arm. "Steve."

"I saw you, at the bottom of the cliff. You're..." He shook his head, trying to get the image out of his mind.

"I was." Natasha held her hands up, starting to dramatically count her fingers, as if checking they were all there. "Seem to have gotten better, though."

He stood up slowly, eyes locked on her in shock. "Gotten better..."

A momentary grin flashed his way, then she got a somber look on her face. "I know some of how it works. A soul for a soul. I traded. You traded back. But if you're here... did it work?"

"It worked. The Snap got undone." Steve sighed. "It cost us, but it worked."

"Tony." It wasn't a question. "Trading your life to the Soul Stone gives you a little insight into things. Tony was happy with his trade."

Running his fingers through his hair, Steve shook his head. "I guess. So, what now? I can get you back to—"

"No." She put her hand on his shoulder softly. "I can't go back to all of that. It's part of the deal. Don't ask me how I know that. I can have my life back, but I can't have  _ my _ life back."

"Is that so bad? I think this has to have cleared all the red from your ledger."

Natasha nodded slowly. "I think it might have. Time for a fresh start."

"I can get you somewhere else, then. On my way to where I'm going."

"And where are you going?"

"I thought I'd go find an old flame, see about starting things up again. You know, I could use the company, and if we're going there, you could use a local guide."

He offered her his arm, and they set off towards a fresh start together, picking up where things began.


End file.
